Jordan Hicks' excuses are putting the Rafael Devers trade in a whole new light

The Boston Red Sox had a golden chance in front of them on Monday night. Another New York Yankees loss put Boston in position to leapfrog back into second place in the AL East (and take over the top AL Wild Card spot), and Roman Anthony's RBI single in the top of the ninth had given them a 4-3 lead over the Minnesota Twins with just three outs to go. The stage was set for another stirring summer rally, one that could lead to even bigger and better things down the road.

And then, some 90 minutes later, it all fell apart. An extremely ill-timed rain delay rain delay meant that Boston had to wait to try and close the game out, and forced reliever Jordan Hicks to try and stay ready for a game he wasn't even sure would continue that night. Sure enough, that did not go well: Hicks gave up a leadoff single, then hit two straight batters to load the bases. After a Carlos Correa groundout, Brooks Lee walked Minnesota off with a miraculous win.

It's the latest tough outing in what's been a bumpy start to Hicks' tenure in Boston, which began when he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the shocking trade that sent away Rafael Devers. His penchant for contact and his bouts of wildness, two things that have dogged him throughout his career, have both reared their heads at inopportune times. Rather than vowing to get better, though, his main takeaway was that the weather was to blame.

“I got fully hot, felt really good to go and then they pulled the tarp, sat for an hour and got hot again,” Hicks told MassLive afterward. “Didn’t have my legs, just didn’t know what the zone was. That’s what it is.

“I was pretty sure I heard (the game) was probably going to get banged a few times. It didn’t get banged. Weird delay. It is what it is. I didn’t get job done and I feel like I let the team down, but I know they’re coming to battle tomorrow.”

Granted, that's not an easy position for any pitcher to be in. But it's not like Hicks had started pitching in a live game only to be shut down for a lengthy rain delay. He simply had to keep his arm loose, then go out and execute against a light-hitting Twins order. Instead, he started throwing the ball all over the place, and reiterated just how little Boston has to trust behind Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock.

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Jordan Hicks' command is the problem, and Craig Breslow should've seen this coming

There's some irony in Boston's return for Devers taking this sort of line, which ... well, which sounds like something Devers would say, to be totally honest. Enough has been said about the decision-making process that led the Red Sox to part ways with their best hitter; there were certainly reasons to pull the trigger, even if the process itself was questionable. But while Craig Breslow and Co. might be glad to be rid of what Devers represented in the clubhouse, it's tough to feel great about what they got on the field, and how Hicks seems to be handling his start in Boston.

It's no surprise that this is the pitcher Hicks is. He's been this way since the beginning; it's what drove St. Louis Cardinals fans nearly crazy, and what cost him his rotation spot with the Giants in the first place. The idea that he and Kyle Harrison (still in Triple-A) were adequate value for Devers beggared belief at the time, and still does now. Hicks is a perfectly fine reliever, but he's also one with a clear ceiling and clearly defined flaws. And ultimately, he seems just fine with that.